


Absences

by crimsonhope



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Ahsoka Tano Needs a Hug, Child Soldiers, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Jedi Council Bashing (Star Wars), Jedi Temple (Star Wars), Master & Padawan Relationship(s), Padawan Training (Star Wars), Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Protective Anakin Skywalker, Protective Obi-Wan Kenobi, War Crimes, but no graphic descriptions
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-01
Updated: 2021-02-01
Packaged: 2021-03-12 19:28:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,849
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29140770
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/crimsonhope/pseuds/crimsonhope
Summary: The Padawan – Ahsoka – approached him respectfully, yet with a bit of uncertainty. She looked tired, but so many of his students did, nowadays. “Do I still have some absences that I need to provide a mission excuse for?”“No, no need to worry, everything appears fine in that regard.”In regard of providing an excuse, at least, not really in regard of the number of those excuses, he commented internally, quickly disregarding the intrusive thought. “You were, however, supposed to turn in your assignment on a chosen battle from the Cold War today…”He could see the realization dawning on her face, as he’s seen it on so many others in similar circumstances.[a.k.a. Ahsoka didn’t do her history homework and it may have led to the Jedi finally setting their priorities straight. Regarding the war, at least.]
Relationships: Anakin Skywalker & Ahsoka Tano, Obi-Wan Kenobi & Ahsoka Tano, Obi-Wan Kenobi & Anakin Skywalker
Comments: 4
Kudos: 110





	Absences

**Author's Note:**

> this is so stupid  
> inspired by jedi war crimes, an obsession with domestic life at the jedi temple and the fascinating adventures of online university  
> ensin vyko may be a made up jedi named by an online generator mixed in with my creativity, but his level of being ‘done with this bullshit’ could rival that of obi-wan’s when he’s doing missions with anakin  
> (i am largely winging it with the jedi temple classes reality solely to fit my own story concept, so understanding, but also any interesting sources for actual reference, are very much appreciated. also the concept of a ‘master’s note’ as an equivalent for ‘parent’s note’ is something i believe in very strongly)

It would have been pointless to ask Master Ensin Vyko if he’d prefer to be part of the battle front instead of teaching classes at the Temple, since little would choose war over the safety and serenity of a sacred ancient building. Educating new generations of Jedi was a path he had chosen a long time ago, and a path he was committed to follow until the end of his days. Being what non-Force sensitives would consider a middle aged man, he still had a considerably long career as a Jedi history scholar before him, which usually filled him with a sense of contentment on an everyday basis. He didn’t care much for the students’ collective and undivided attention, knowing that some Jedi (if not most) were not made to merely sit around and listen, especially as Padawans. As long as he fulfilled his duty of verbally recreating the past in the most truthful way, he knew that those truly interested would listen.

That being said, he couldn’t let his students pass the classes without having to make any effort – written assignments were, in his opinion, neither too stressful nor too easy, so he would give them to each class every once in a while, both as a means to verify their knowledge and encourage the more stubborn students to actually visit the archives every once in a while. Essays might have required more time, but they could be written outside of class and in a preferred studying environment.

What Master Ensin Vyko didn’t not take into consideration, or didn’t have to until now, was that many of his students were to become part-time soldiers in a Galaxy-wide war. Naturally, he’s had to deal with absences and all sorts of student sicknesses before, but never had they been so frequent, or severe for that matter. He was starting to loose track of those few marauders who were deliberately skipping classes, amongst the flurry of medical records copies, Master’s notes and students being constantly taken out of his classroom by their mentor or a healer. Absences due to Mind healer appointments were especially worrying, seeing as they only seemed to be increasing in frequency and resulting in later assignment deadlines. But it weren’t the missing assignments that ultimately bothered him, of course – those were meaningless; the actual, valid point of concern was the reason why those assignments haven’t been completed in the first place.

***

“Is there any way that I could maybe… turn it in at a later date?” The Pantoran Padawan stared at the holopad on his desk instead of him. “…Master.” She added quickly, undoubtedly interpreting his initial silence as a sign of trouble.

Ensin _was_ being silent, but it wasn’t purposeful, or a way to increase tension. If anything, he wished to decrease it for the sake of the girl before him, who apparently thought that falling behind on her studies in the aftermath of her Master’s death was somehow _her_ fault.

“You can turn it in whenever you’re ready, Padawan Kurn.” He knew that a sympathetic smile wouldn’t make her situation feel even a fraction better, but it was the only thing he could provide her with – and he hoped the frustration currently bubbling up inside of him didn’t manage to make it seem too strained. The girl finally looked up at him, sporting a weak smile that he could tell was _actually_ fake, even though she was making a very detectable physical effort for her Force signature to appear bright. He didn’t want to let her torture herself any longer. “You may go, child.”

“Thank you, Master Vyko.” She turned around quickly – _too quickly_ – and practically fled towards the corridor, the swish of her light grey robes a jarring contrast to the overwhelming grief pouring out of her weak, unexperienced shields.

***

_T_ _here is no emotion, there is peace._ Only there is no peace, there is war, Ensin thought bitterly, chastising himself for being so distracted by a concept he has, after all, been around and studied for years. But ‘concept’ didn’t, and could never, compare to real experience, of which he had none. It was becoming more and more ironic to him how everyday he held lectures on wars for people who’ve had first hand experience in them, no to mention most of these people weren’t even half his age. The oldest padawans to be taught by him were barely eighteen years old. Some of them would ask for details on past military tactics, and he found himself numbly directing them to the archive materials, remembering how once the questions used to almost exclusively concern famous public scandals or former Jedi known for their un-Jedi-like behavior.

***

“This particular decision did not sit well with the Gungans, who…”

The swoosh of the door interrupted Ensin mid-sentence. He was greeted by the easy smile of Master Ki-Adi Mundi, although his force signature seemed to be lacking its usual serenity.

“I apologize for disrupting your lecture, Master Vyko, but I’m afraid I must take Padawan Montalvo away with me.” He glanced at his student across the room, giving a slight nod.

The boy appeared to understand it faster that Ensin himself did – right, it was Master Mundi who took the boy as his student after… Ensin was beginning to feel largely uninformed at this point. A Jedi Master may have been dying far outside the walls of the Temple, and he wouldn’t have even known, until a new mentor came to pick up their Padawan. With the Padawans themselves, on the other hand, he naturally knew straight away – the empty seats glared at him each time he turned away from the holo projector to face the class (which he found himself doing less and less frequently these days).

“Yes, of course.” He didn’t even need to ask for an explanation at this point, and neither did Master Mundi feel like providing him with one. Everyone seemed to be pretending the explanations remained simple, much like before the war. “May the Force be with you.” Ensin added nonetheless, eyeing the boy and his Master as they turned to leave the room.

“And with you.” They responded in unison, making the scholar smile for the first time in days. The bonds of Masters and apprentices always filled him with joy, as a core believer in the power of the older passing their knowledge down to the young.

He wondered what the future Jedi historians, tasked with retelling the current times, will be talking about.

***

He wished it was the first time a student has ran out of his class – actually, he wished that sort of thing had never happened at all – but the topic discussed had been rather bloody, so as much as he’d tried to neutralize the impact of his presentation, he wasn’t surprised when one of the Padawans excused themselves rather hastily and disappeared into the hall.

To assume they had various reasons for leaving wouldn’t have been entirely irrational, but to assume the discussion of past war events wasn’t one of those reasons, if not the biggest one, would have been ignorant and naïve. At this point, as a scholar, Ensin was anything but ignorant and naïve. Granted, he could name a few individuals – _organized groups_ of individuals, he dare not say – who were.

He was approached by a Mind healer later that day, informing him that the runaway Padawan would likely not be attending classes for the foreseeable future. There was more to that story – a very concerning, very predictable explanation that Ensin could almost read off the healers face – but he had no right to ask for details. He wouldn’t receive them, and what he already suspected was enough to discourage him from any further discussion on the matter. His only job was to mark the Padawan’s absence as ‘medical leave’, and count the days until he would be able to stop doing so. Or, much more likely, the days until he would have another student running out of his class, another discussion with a Mind healer, another note announcing ‘medical leave’, another absence to mark and another empty seat to stare at.

***

He tried not to become too preoccupied with the small number of assignments turned in, reminding himself that he was not ‘that kind of scholar’ and was doing it for the good of his students, and not for his own satisfaction. Unfortunately, as long as there happened to exist a different factor actively working _against_ the good of his students, remaining calm was a struggle.

“Padawan Tano,” he addressed the young Togruta who was readying herself to leave the classroom following the end of his lecture. “A word, please.”

He was aware how stress-inducing the expression could be for younger Jedi coming from one of the Masters, but he preferred to discuss assignment matters individually, which was what his words were meant to signal.

“Of course, Master.” The Padawan – Ahsoka – approached him respectfully, yet with a bit of uncertainty. She looked tired, but so many of his students did, nowadays. “Do I still have some absences that I need to provide a mission excuse for?”

“No, no need to worry, everything appears fine in that regard.” _In regard of providing an excuse, at least, not really in regard of the number of those excuses_ , he commented internally, quickly disregarding the intrusive thought. “You were, however, supposed to turn in your assignment on a chosen battle from the Cold War today…”

He could see the realization dawning on her face, as he’s seen it on so many others in similar circumstances.

“Oh, Force!… I’m… I’m so sorry, Master Vyko, I just…” The Togruta squeezed the bridge of her nose for a few seconds, as if she was struggling to come up with the correct order of words. In reality, it was probably a rather large headache. “I meant to do it on the way back to Coruscant, but I honestly… forgot.”

“When did you get back?”

“…Two days ago?” She immediately cringed, knowing that if anything, the information only worked against her. Ensin sighed, staring at the class participation list – each surname was either accompanied by a series of absences, or red dots signaling missing assignments. In Tano’s case, like in multiple others, it happened to be both.

“If you can just get me a note from your Master, then we can postpone that assignment, Padawan Tano.” He had no energy left to even try and talk to her about all the previous assignments, knowing that before she even got to them, she would once again be returning to the military cruiser.

“Does it have to be… _my_ Master?” She sounded like she knew very well that her question was rather ridiculous, and yet she asked it, inspiring Ensin’s confusion.

“Well, that is the basic idea of a note… will your Master not sign such a thing for you?” When it came to Skywalker, he was actually surprised he hasn’t tried to get his Padawan out of classes _for good_ , not that the Council would ever allow that. Ensin remembered him as a teenager, and he was _not_ one of the listening types, by any means.

“No, he would, I’m sure. It’s just that…” She bit her lip. “He’s not exactly… _capable_ of that right now.”

“I’ve heard both you and Knight Skywalker are to be back in the Temple for some time, considering the gravity of your last campaign.” He frowned.

“Master Skywalker _is_ at the Temple, but he’s… unconscious. As of three days… well, more or less.”

Ensin blinked. Surely, the Force was just messing him at this point.

Not all masters agreed to write notes, some were particularly strict, but he had just been told by a sixteen year old Padawan – sixteen year old _child_ – that her master couldn’t write her a note because he was… in a _kriffing coma_.

He’s officially had it.

“Excuse me, Padawan Tano.”

He stood up from his desk in a swift move and, grabbing his holopad, walked out of the classroom.

***

From that side of the Temple it was quite a long way to the Council chambers, but he had time. He wasn’t planning on respecting the Council’s appointment schedule anyway, but it would always be better if he managed to walk in there alone and get straight to the point. And manage he did.

“Masters.” He bowed respectfully, which was about to become one of the last signs of respect he gave during the meeting.

“Some urgent news you bring, Master Vyko? Announce your visit, you did not.” Yoda spoke, unofficially granting others their turn to question Ensin as well.

“Do you have any concerns regarding your classes?” Master Windu sounded only mildly interested, but he was sporting a frown, as usual.

“I wish to give you the report from my teachings earlier than usual, Masters, since it will require… certain rare procedures to follow.” He smiled softly, attempting to appear unfazed by the gravity of his own statement, as though he was merely a scholar tasked with completing his job and accumulating the outcomes, implying complete emotional detachment from it. Which, technically speaking, he was supposed to be doing.

“Go on.” Master Kenobi encouraged him, breaking the initial silence of his fellow Council members.

“Amongst the Padawans attending my lectures this schooling trimester, eleven will unfortunately not be able to pass the class due to unfulfilled requirements. By now, all of them have surpassed the point of being able to make up for their absences and missing assignments, which forces me to assign them to repeat the class on the same level.” Jedi did not feel pride, but in that moment, Ensin _did_ pride himself on managing to deliver the entire explanation with so much stoicism and seemingly little compassion that certain master’s eyes have widened slightly upon hearing his words.

“Are you sure neither of them have made attempts at improving their performance and deserve a pass?” He could see Master Windu trying to make sense of the entire situation in his head as he spoke to him.

“Attempts have been made, Masters, yet none of them sufficient.” Ensin folded his hands over his holopad calmly, assuming an even more relaxed position. He was simply updating the Council on the education progress at the Temple, after all.

“Which Padawans are concerned, exactly?”

Ensin gladly read out the full list, sensing even more shock radiating from the Council members. He especially enjoyed the flurry of “Now, hold on…”s that followed, coming from those masters who suddenly became ten times more alert after having heard their _own_ Padawans’ names.

He tried not to pry into anyone’s mind, least his own feelings become too obvious. His immense satisfaction, mostly.

“Padawan Kurn and Padawan Tano were to complete their Temple studies entirely following the end of your class. This is an unfortunate setback for them.” One of the Masters argued, rising their brow. _You mean an unfortunate setback for the Jedi forces in the army_ , Ensin added in his head. The more advanced Padawan learners, the more missions they could be assigned on their own. All to utilize the military Forces to the maximum, no matter their age or the scope of the eventual PTSD they were bound to experience.

“Yes, well, I believe we shouldn’t be making exceptions in terms of educating the next generation of Jedi properly.” Ensin shot back.

"We've never had as many Padawans perform as badly at the same time." Master Windu had the _audacity_ to rub his chin, as if something was baffling him here. "We'll need time to debate on how to proceed. And, most importantly, on what is causing the problem."

Ensin was convinced his own Force signature was seething, and that by now, most of the Council could tell.

"I think we all know what is causing the problem, _Masters_."

***

Ahsoka was itching. Anakin has always had the so called 'bad timing', but she was quite sure he'd never missed this much news. She was parched at the edge of her seat next to his bed, despite knowing that the time of Anakin's waking was deemed 'unclear' by Master Che, but she really couldn't wait. Besides, something in the Force was telling her he would be opening his eyes today.

The Force rarely being wrong, his eyes soon began fluttering. She was ready as soon as his gaze landed on her, and he attempted a weak smile.

"Hey, Skyguy! I failed my history class today."

She was starting it all wrong purely to see the expression on his face at that first statement, and it was very much worth it.

"What?" Did she imagine it, or did he pale slightly? "Why? How? Snips..." He was probably aiming for a look of disappointment, but to her, it looked more like simple fatigue.

"Don't worry, Master, ten other people failed as well." She grinned goofily.

"And that makes you proud?!" Okay, now there was some substance in there. Annoyance, mostly. So, a day like any other.

"Well, we won't be fighting battles anymore, so the Council decided that we get to retake the class in a faster, intense format, and then I'm done with my Temple studies! Are you proud?" She leaned in, teasingly.

Anakin was staring at her like she's just tried to explain one of the obscure political systems of some of the smaller, far away planets. She wondered if he was still on any painkillers. Maybe her elaborate attempt at playing it dumb before the big reveal was still too much for his drug-induced brain. 

"What did you do?" He asked slowly. Ahsoka feigned offence, palm slamming against her chest.

" _I_ didn't do anything! Thanks to _your_ recklessness, I was left with nothing to do, but sit here and wait for you to kindly wake up!" She teased.

"Did you get suspended? And did you get _me_ suspended by default? What do you mean we _won't be fighting battles anymore_? Did they give us ... permanent leave, or something? We WON that campaign! Me getting hit in the head should only be proof of how hard we all fought, and the clones..." 

Ahsoka found herself zoning out, wondering instead if she should let him continue freaking out or finally get to the point. 

"The Jedi Order is renegotiating its part in the war." She announced, putting a stop to his monologue. Anakin closed his mouth mid-sentence, once again back to staring at her dumbly. 

" _Because of what happened to me?_ " He blurted out.

"What – _no!_ Are you even listening?"

"I am, you just told me the Council wants to pull back from the..."

"I didn't say ‘pull back’," Ahsoka raised a hand, cutting him off. “‘Renegotiate’. To be honest, I'm not sure even the Council knows what that means yet." She shrugged.

"But… why?" Anakin still seemed mostly shocked, and Ahsoka suspected that part of him probably thought he was still under the influence of painkillers, and having a weird, though realistic-looking dream. 

“Apparently... there have been ‘growing concerns’ for the Jedi's ‘mental wellbeing’ due to ‘military experiences’.” She explained, using air-quotes. She was glad Anakin could tell whenever she was impersonating Master Windu. "Oh, and a ‘negative impact’ on the ‘educational progress of the future generations of Jedi’. Like me." She clarified. “You know, because some of us had no time to write our assignments, as if a two-page essay was _crucial_ on my path to becoming a Jedi." She huffed, leaning back in her chair, arms crossed.

“I don’t get it…” Anakin looked beyond confused. “They only realized that _now_? I mean… This is war! We’re either ready to make all kinds of sacrifices, or shouldn’t engage in the first place!”

“We _are_ keepers of the peace… I guess from a certain point of view it was natural for us to engage in that conflict, if it meant fighting for peace.” Ahsoka wasn’t sure whether she

was trying to reason with Anakin, or with herself. Maybe with no one in particular. It was hard to find some reason there at all – the entirety of her apprenticeship, war was sort of… a fact. There were days when it seemed like nothing more, and nothing less. “The Jedi Council knew those sacrifices would be noble.”

“Yeah… I just figured they didn’t really care.” Anakin mumbled, and there was some darkness to that, a darkness she’s never liked in him.

Only, despite that darkness, all parts of her that allowed her to share a special understanding with Anakin were telling her that there was some truth to his statement. She definitely wasn’t the one to ignore peculiar sensations in the Force, and the sensation she was currently registering was something resembling a simple statement of ‘ _better now_ ’. She had the feeling that more things were about to go right, rather than wrong, in the foreseeable future.

The next sensation was sudden, and familiar.

"Ah, I thought I would find you in here!" Obi-wan stepped into the room at his usual, collected pace, but Ahsoka has already learned to identify the signs when something was preoccupying her Grandmaster. "Ahsoka, if you don't mind me asking – considering the most recent events, of course – how are you feeling?"

Ahsoka narrowed her eyes, not entirely sure what he was getting at. 

"Well, hello to you too, Master." Anakin mumbled from his spot on the bed.

"Yes, hello Anakin." Obi-wan kept staring at Ahsoka expectantly.

" _I’m_ feeling better, in case you were wondering."

"That's good, Anakin."

The younger jedi huffed, clearly making sure his offence was visible.

"I'm doing fine, Master Kenobi." Ahsoka offered him what she hoped was a convincing smile, not that she had anything to hide – compared to what some Padawans went through, she thought she's had it considerably easy. And having to sit next to Anakin's bed in the halls of healing was pretty much a routine at this point.

"Well, if you ever need anything, just know that there's much help around. And Mind healer appointments can be helpful for everyone, not only those who have experienced a particular kind of trauma." Obi-wan suggested, making Ahsoka wonder if he was speaking from experience. Knowing how well he took to spending time in the halls of healing alone – which was even worse than Anakin at times - she doubted it. Her doubt quickly turned into a strong resolve to drag Obi-wan to a Mind healer as well – it was a good point for blackmail, actually, if she were to agree with his suggestion right now. Anakin would certainly be happy to help with that particular quest. 

"I promise I’ll think about it. Thank you." Ahsoka bowed her head ever so slightly, indicating her will to end the conversation for now. She was glad Obi-wan had reached out, but she needed time to think everything through on her own first.

"Wait, why would she need to see a mind healer? Is everything okay, Snips? Has something happened? Why didn't you tell me? Have you been hiding this from me?! Are you..."

Oh Force, Obi-wan had unleashed a beast.

**Author's Note:**

> is it a crack fic? does it have the right to be anything else? you decide  
> confused anakin is me trying to make this fic make more sense and constantly realizing it doesn't, and never will  
> there's fanfiction and then there's FUNfiction  
> in case it gave off high school au vibes i’m sorry – i promise i normally stray as far away from that as possible, not really my thing  
> just… teenage commanders? C’MON also #justice for the clones, you’re welcome to write a companion fic to this following the same premise, but for our boys this time


End file.
